Cain campaign paid groups reportedly under FBI probe

Nearly two months after dropping his bid for the GOP nomination, Herman Cain’s presidential campaign paid about $19,000 to a pair of nonprofit groups that are reportedly under federal investigation for boosting his White House bid.

The Wisconsin-based groups, Prosperity USA and Wisconsin Prosperity Network, were run by Cain’s top aides and footed the bill for about $40,000of goods and services — including iPads and chartered flights — that helped Cain’s campaign get going early last year, according to documents obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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It would be illegal for the groups to donate goods or services to a presidential campaign, and Cain’s campaign last year said it had retained an outside lawyer to look into the matter.

The Journal Sentinel reported last month that the FBI was investigating the groups and their leaders, Mark Block and Linda Hansen, who served as Cain’s campaign manager and deputy campaign manager, respectively.

A report filed Friday night with the Federal Election Commission shows that Cain’s presidential campaign committee on Jan. 20 paid $14,779 to Prosperity USA for lodging, transportation and meals and $4,064 to Wisconsin Prosperity Network for office equipment and furniture.

The FEC report also shows that the campaign paid $4,800 to a charter air service — Hill Aircraft & Leasing of Atlanta — that Prosperity USA paid to transport Cain, according to the documents obtained by the Journal Sentinel.

Neither Prosperity USA nor Wisconsin Prosperity Network has a functioning website. And the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions lists both groups as “delinquent.”

Block did not respond to a voice mail message Saturday. And Cain’s campaign lawyer and spokesman did not respond to voice mail or detailed email messages asking about whether the expenses were to pay back the non-profits for the goods and services provided last year or whether the campaign owed any more money to the groups.

The campaign did not list any outstanding debt to either group on its FEC report, which covers the first three months of this year.

It shows that the campaign paid nearly $32,000 to Cain’s company T.H.E. New Voice
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It also paid Cain, himself, $300,000 to reimburse personal loans he made to the campaign, which still lists $175,000 in debt owed to him.

The campaign raised $63,000 and spent $857,000, primarily on expenses that appear to have been accrued before Cain suspended his campaign in December amidst a series of accusations of sexual impropriety.

It paid about $84,000 for fundraising-related expenses, $8,500 to limousine and chauffeur companies and $81,000 for salaries — though none to Block or Hansen.